


I pray thee Lord

by bleedinglight



Series: VanVen Week 2019 [5]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels, Blood, Hints of angels, M/M, mentions of torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:42:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21960817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bleedinglight/pseuds/bleedinglight
Summary: The clock was ticking.The time for their destruction was nigh.VanVen Day 5
Relationships: Vanitas/Ventus (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: VanVen Week 2019 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1577038
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	I pray thee Lord

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to make this happy. I really did. It had other plans.

_Now I lay me down to sleep,_

_I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep;_

_If I should die before I wake_

_I pray thee, Lord, my soul to take_

_It started with a rainy day in Daybreak Town._

_He tried his best to ignore the crowds as he rushed through the streets to find the closest place for shelter. It took a while before he finally ducked into a building, shuddering a bit at the contrasting temperatures of the humid temperature outside and how cold the store was. Vanitas shook some stray raindrops off of him, grimacing a bit. He was quick to head to the counter of the store, somewhat surprised to see a cup of his favorite coffee already waiting for him._

_“What—”_

_Lifting his eyes, he blinked a bit when he saw a gentle smile gazing back at him._

_“One black coffee, right? With some vanilla powder and cream.”_

_“Yeah. How did you—”_

_“You’re a regular,” the blond told him shyly. “It’s on the house.”_

_Vanitas can’t help but be taken by this person. He had seen him often before, after all. He raised a brow. Then he smiled. “Thank you. What’s your name?”_

_“Ventus.”_

_“It’s nice to meet you, Ventus. I’m Vanitas.”_

Screams of the people surrounded him; the smell of death and sulfur strong in the air.

He ignored the panic of the townspeople as he walked toward to the Bell Tower in the town. It stood gallantly over its people, over the smaller buildings that surrounded it like a protective barrier. For many years, it was the symbol of hope and new beginnings for those who lived in Daybreak Town.

Today, it stood as the symbol of the town’s destruction.

Darkness curled around him, hungry but so, so _angry_. He can hear the sobs of those who lost their families so far in the destruction of their home, he can see people running away from the chaos in some attempt to save themselves. But he didn’t care about them. He couldn’t bring himself to care about any of them.

They deserve it.

They will pay for their mistakes.

He will not let a single one of them live.

In his hand, a silver rosary was clutched tightly between his fingers.

_If I should live for other days,_

_I pray thee, Lord, to guide my ways._

_Amen._

_“So, how long have you been living in Daybreak Town?”_

_Vanitas looked over at Ventus as they sat together in the park, sitting on the fountain as it was for once empty. Unfortunately, Daybreak Town only had one park which often left it crowded. However, as people were beginning to ready themselves for the holidays, it provided them a nice kind of quiet Vanitas had learned to enjoy. While he never came to the park with anyone else, he found himself enjoying Ventus’ company more and more as they began to spend more days together._

_Who knew all it took was a proper meeting in the coffee shop for them to get acquainted?_

_He made a soft sound, sipping his coffee as he thought about his answer._

_“Half of my life, I guess,” he finally answered. “What about you? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”_

_Ventus smiled, his bright blue eyes almost seeming to laugh at him. “Joke’s on you. I’ve actually lived here my whole life. But I guess it makes sense that you’ve never seen me around before.” He kicked his legs a bit, a childish action that Vanitas surprisingly found endearing. “I never lived in this side of town.”_

_Oh._

_That had him looking curious. “So, you’re from…that…place?”_

_It felt wrong to even say the name._

_Despite how bright Daybreak Town seemed to be, it did have two sides to it. The more well-known side with its busy streets and bright streetlights was the side most people knew; it was where everything was practically located. It was where people enjoyed the more…modern times that overcame it. However, there was another side to it that most people never ventured to. It lived in the dark side of the town, just behind the Bell Tower where its shadow seemed to cover it entirely._

_Those who lived there were often said to be heretics of some sort, cursed by the priests living in the Bell Tower._

_Vanitas just figured they were all fools, not wanting to understand the other side._

_He was right._

_For a moment, Ventus seemed to study him and Vanitas wondered if he overstepped his boundary. He didn’t mean to sound…prejudicial. He worried that just by even calling it that would have Ventus severe ties with him, so he relaxed a bit when the blond only smiled._

_“Yeah, I am,” he finally said. “I guess it makes sense for people to be a bit uncomfortable mentioning it though.”_

_“Is it that bad?”_

_Ventus let out a soft laugh. It sounded like the twinkling bells from the Bell Tower when the wind blew against it._

_Vanitas liked the sound._

_He grinned at him. “No, not bad, but people often don’t like trying to understand things that they don’t know about.”_

“Vanitas, stop!”

At the voice, Vanitas stopped in his tracks, golden eyes glaring at the people who dared to stand in his way. The darkness curled around him, almost as if trying to dance around him while waiting for his orders.

“Out of my way,” he growled, voice deep.

Ephemer furrowed his eyebrows, taking a step forward. Behind him, Skuld and the others stood in front of the entrance of the Bell Tower protectively. The sight of it had his jaw clenching, feeling anger surge through him. These people. They were supposed to be the ones who upheld the law. They were supposed to be righteous and fair, but—

“Vanitas, you need to stop,” Ephemer said again, sky blue eyes begging him to listen. “You know that if you keep this up, it’s not going to—”

“I don’t care. They’re going to pay. _You_ are all going to pay for what you did. For what you did to _him_.”

This time, it was Skuld who stepped up, hazel-gold eyes staring down at him. For a brief moment, Vanitas thought of her as that blue-haired woman he came across once. The one who started all of this.

She said, “Vanitas. There’s nothing we can do about it. It’s our duty. We can’t stop—”

“Yes, you can!”

The others jerked as the darkness around him flared.

Good, he thought. Let them feel what he was feeling. Let them feel the utter despair and hopelessness he was feeling. They deserve it for everything. For taking their dream away from them.

Vanitas began to walk towards them. Around him, the darkness began to spread and creatures made of shadow and negativity began to form around him. They all hissed angrily at the group, hungry. Angry. There was a desire for blood. He wanted to make them all bleed. The rosary in his hand almost seemed to burn with his conviction as the darkness grew like an angry flame.

“Either stand aside or I will fight through you,” he told them, his voice growing deeper. “Because I will. If it’s for him, I will do anything.”

“Vani—”

“ _Move_.”

Eyes glowing amidst the darkness, Vanitas held out his hand and the shadows flew toward the group.

_Now I lay me down to sleep,_

_I pray the Lord my soul to keep;_

_His Love to guard me through the night,_

_And wake me in the morning’s light_

_He didn’t want to believe it._

_Vanitas stepped into the musty corridor, nose wrinkling in distaste as the scent of sweat and blood. He ignored the guards leering down at him, choosing to walk forward to where he needed to go. To the person who needed him the most._

_There had been rumors going around._

_The murder of the Prime Minister’s daughter circulated the town. There was nowhere anyone can go without hearing it. She was a beautiful girl. Kind and generous; everyone knew about her. Not a soul would be able to say one bad thing about her. It was why people were so confounded when her brother found her dead on the steps of the Bell Tower, her body displayed as if it were a macabre painting, her blood spread out like twisted wings. When people began to investigate, all evidence seemed to lead to one person in particular: Ventus._

_And no one wanted to hear the feeble protests of a boy from the other side._

_He stepped in front of the cell they kept Ventus in and his eyes widened in horror at the sight of the blond._

_“Ven—”_

_Ventus looked up at him, smile pained as he rested against the cobblestone wall. He looked beaten up, gashes of blood dripping from his thighs and arms, and Vanitas knew he was being whipped. Even with himself being all bloodied, Ventus still tried to smile for him._

_It made his heart ache._

_“Ventus…”_

_“Hi, Vanitas,” Ventus greeted him, voice hoarse. “…I’m sorry I couldn’t make it for our date.”_

_“Shut up. What happened?”_

_Ventus shifted and Vanitas’ eyes dropped to the floor, feeling his heart sink in his chest when he noticed the dried blood around him. How long had they been torturing him? Did those who live in the Bell Tower genuinely believe they could get away with this? The question made bile rise up. That was exactly what it was._

_Those with power would always abuse it to commit heinous acts like this._

_Ventus smiled ruefully. “I’m not sure how much you believe the rumors, but...I was framed. I didn’t even know what she looked like until the news hit. But…no one is going to believe me. Even those guys…”_

_“Those guys?”_

_Instead of answering, Ventus pulled himself away from the wall and Vanitas released a noise of protest. It had him crouching down, hand stretched through the bars when Ventus drew closer to him and reached out, their fingers brushing against each other’s._

_The rueful smile turned into a warm one. “I hope…we can meet again, Vanitas.”_

_“Idiot. Don’t say things like that.” Vanitas blinked back tears as he glared at him. “You’re going to be fine. They’re going to—”_

_“You know they won’t.”_

_The admittance had Vanitas gripping the bar with one hand tightly until his knuckles began to turn white._

_“I…don’t want to lose you.”_

_Ventus gave him that small smile. The one that gave him butterflies in his stomach, the kind that made his whole world feel warm no matter how cold it got. It was a smile Vanitas learned to love more than anything else in the world._

_“We’ll see each other again,” Ventus promised, fingers gripping onto his tightly. “Maybe not next time, but…we will.”_

_“I love you.”_

_The three words made that smile widen._

_“I love you, too.”_

The bell tolled three times.

Most of the city had been burned down, other parts had been wrecked by the darkness coming from his heart. He ignored the pained, shuddering gasps of the priest from where he laid pitifully on the floor, his own blood quickly pooling around him. He walked forward, footsteps paced with determination as he hurried to the platform where he recognized that prone body. White feathers littered the floor around it, some of it stained in crimson and he blinked back the tears threatening to fall.

He had hoped he wouldn’t be too late.

Vanitas hurried over, leaning over the beautiful boy he loved so much. Over the _angel_ that he wanted to keep close to him at all times. Ventus was so pale, yet somehow, he also seemed to shine so much brighter than the sun itself. His eyes dropped to the sides where there were bloody paintings of wings spread out, stretching from the platform and down to its sides, running in crimson rivulets that slowly formed puddles. His gaze was quick to return to that angelic face, one hand shakily rising up to cup his cheek.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice broken.

_“What do you mean, something they don’t understand?”_

_“Why do you think the other side of town is kept in the shadows of the tower? No one wanted to be in the same vicinity as a monster.”_

Over and over again, he whispered ‘I’m sorry’ to the boy he loved so dearly. Tears streamed down his face, but he wasn’t sure if it was due to his pain or to his anger. Hearing movement coming from behind him, Vanitas reluctantly pulled back and kept his eyes down on Ventus even as the scathing sounds of swords being unsheathed met his ears.

“Haven’t you lot done enough?” he asked aloud, not bothering to turn around to face them. “Killing an innocent to keep your pretense. You’re the worst kinds of liars.”

“Vanitas…” Ephemer’s pained voice made him _growl_.

Ignoring him, Vanitas carefully picked Ventus up into his arms and turned to glare at the group.

“You’ll pay for this. I swear.”

In a burst of darkness that flared out like angry flames, Vanitas disappeared with Ventus.


End file.
